Yangon - Myanmar's military regime turned the relief effort for last week's devastating cyclone into a propaganda exercise by distributing international aid with names of top generals pasted on the boxes.

State-run television ran images of top generals, including junta leader Senior Gen Than Shwe, handing out boxes of aid to survivors at elaborate ceremonies.

One box bore the name of Lt-Gen Myint Swe, a rising star in the government hierarchy, in bold letters overshadowing a smaller label that read: 'Aid from the Kingdom of Thailand.'

AP